Why Choosing the Right Crane-Lifted Cage Matters

At Conquip, our cages are engineered to make every lift safe and compliant. Whether you’re crane-lifting materials, equipment or people, choosing the right cage is critical to not only move and contain the load but to ensure the safety and well-being of site personnel and members of the public is paramount.

Incidents involving improper lifting methods are still far too common. Using the wrong lifting method and/or cage for a job can increase the risk of dropped loads, injuries, or compliance breaches.

Regularly maintained and inspected, Conquip lifting cages remove that risk. Our cages are all:

✅ Fully compliant with LOLER and PUWER regulations
✅ Engineered and tested to Eurocodes, BSI, ISO and Machinery Directive standards
✅ Supplied with full technical documentation that includes Working Load Limit (WLL) data and visual inspection checklists
✅Designed to support clear lift plans

Using the correct cage for the job at hand means lifts are safer, reduced crane time, better load control and containment, and stronger compliance across the board.

So, which cage suits your application?

Let’s break it down…

Material Handling Cages – Safe, Compliant and Job-Ready

Crane Forks Cage

Compliance & Safety: Fully enclosed and tested to prevent load shifts if the cage were to snag or jolt mid-lift. Its fail-safe design contains the load, eliminating the risks associated with using restraint nets and providing your team with a controlled lift every time.

Applications: Perfect for moving brick pallets around the site with Conquip Crane Forks, especially where Tier 1 contractor safety standards are required. Featuring a ramp to allow easy unloading with pallet trucks without having to remove the crane forks, reducing handling time.

Goods Cages

Compliance & Safety: Load tested and weight tested with inset lifting points to prevent damage, reduce repair costs and increase longevity. Available in different sizes to suit various applications and loads, just a single lift plan is required per cage, ensuring they can move a range of materials and equipment around the site. Plus, with a choice between secure gate access and gas-assisted ramps, contractors can choose the cage to best suit their on-site requirements.

Applications: Ideal for transporting diverse materials across the site, from bricks and blocks to large materials or tools. A compact version is now available, which is great for lighter loads (up to 1500kg WLL) and ideal for smaller sites or projects with limited space.

XXL Lifting Cage

Compliance & Safety: Designed to carry up to six standard-sized pallets in a single lift or larger, heavier equipment and materials, this cage reduces crane movements and load-out time on-site. Featuring gas-assisted ramps for loading the cage with pallet trucks, supporting manual handling regulations.

Applications: Large projects where efficiency and safety for high-volume lifts are critical.

Rebar Cage

Compliance & Safety: Securely contains rebar lengths during lifting to prevent movement or accidental falls. Engineered for best-practice handling and far safer than choking the load with a sling.

Applications: Construction sites handling rebar, this cage prevents workplace injuries and materials from falling while improving crane operator control.

Pod Lifting Cage

Compliance & Safety: Robust frame that transports prefabricated pods into buildings. Engineered to prevent tipping or uncontrolled movement with internal attachment points to safely secure pods during lifts.

Applications: Prefabrication and modular construction projects where precise, safe lifting and placement of pods at height is required.

Personnel Cages — Protecting People With Every Lift

Access Cage

Compliance & Safety: Features include integrated safety rails and harness points, solid half-height sides and a self-latching door. Cages are available in capacities from 1 to 12 people.

Applications: Safely transports personnel to high or low locations on-site. Ideal for moving teams around the large infrastructure sites where access is restricted and for carrying out maintenance from inside the 2-person cage.

Rescue Cage

Compliance & Safety: Engineered crane-lift cage with handrails and harness points, for emergency use.

Applications: Emergency recovery of stranded personnel, suspended worker rescues in hard-to-reach areas. The inverted T-shape allows positioning directly under operatives. Plus, it can also be used for other applications, such as carrying out maintenance work in line with site-specific risk assessments and lift plans.

Stretcher Cage

Stretcher Cage Hero

Compliance & Safety: Raised base and solid half-height sides protect casualties during lifts. Up-and-over door maximises space; self-closing entry adds safety. Optional brackets provide storage for the stretcher to keep it off the floor and easy to access.

Applications: Safely transporting injured or immobile personnel on a stretcher. Essential for emergency response and legally required on sites with regular crane lifting operations.

man cage for transportation of personnel on site

FAQs

Q1. What’s the difference between a Crane Forks Cage and a Goods Cage?

Crane Forks Cages are dedicated, fully enclosed solutions for brick pallet lifting. Goods Cages are versatile, supporting mixed loads and both crane and forklift operations.

Q2. Are Conquip cages compliant?

Yes. All Conquip lifting cages are LOLER and PUWER compliant, designed to Eurocodes, BSI, ISO and Machinery Directive standards and supplied with technical documentation including specification, Working Load Limit data and pre-use checks guidance. Conquip offer a range of after-sales services, including on-site inspections for ongoing LOLER and PUWER reports.

Q3. Can I use a restraint net instead of a lifting cage?

There are always risks presented when using Restraint Nets instead of a cage. These are some to be aware of:

Inadequate Containment of Materials

- Restraint nets are not provided to support the lift of a heavy or awkward load; they are to restrain the load from moving. Nets can sag or deform and materials can shift, tear through, or fall out of the net, especially if poorly loaded, the pallet is damaged or imbalanced, or gets caught on something such as scaffolding.

Non-Compliance with Lifting Regulations

- In the UK under LOLER, lifting attachments must be engineered for the task, have current LOLER report in place and product tagged and be used according to manufacturer guidelines.

Risk of Load Movement and Drop

- Without rigid sides (such as a cage), the load can slide or topple during transit and if the restraint net fails or detaches, the entire load could fall, causing severe injury or fatality below.

False Sense of Security

- Nets can create the illusion of safety, leading operatives to assume the load is secured when it’s not fully restrained and may cause more infrequent load and rigging checks.

Lack of Engineering Certificate

- Crane Forks and a net must be an approved, compliant lifting method on any particular site.

Q4. What personnel cage should I use?

Well, here is the breakdown as to the application and use you need it for…

Access Cage: Moving multiple operatives safely during routine operations.

Rescue Cage: Emergency recovery or site-specific access tasks.

Stretcher Cage: Medical evacuation of injured personnel.

Explore our full range of lifting equipment or contact the team via email or phone.

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